1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a strut for mounting a brake lever of a brake actuator to a brake beam assembly in a railway car vehicle. In one embodiment, a reversible strut may be used to mount the brake lever on the brake beam assembly in a right-hand or left-hand configuration.
2. Description of Related Art
Railway freight cars typically include four brake beams, each associated with a particular set of wheels at the front or rear of the car. The brake beams are comprised of a compression member carrying brake shoes at the ends thereof and a V-shaped tension member. An air brake cylinder is mounted on the freight car and is associated with the brake beams by a brake rod that connects to a lever extending through a strut of the brake beam assembly, which extends between the compression member and the tension member. The brake shoes are applied to the wheels to slow the car by activating the air brake assembly to pull the brake rods, which actuate the lever to move the compression members in the direction of the wheels.
Such brake systems require that the brake lever extends through the strut at an angle with respect to a horizontal plane and, thus, during manufacture, the brake beam assembly is made in one of a right-hand or a left-hand configuration. Accordingly, railway operators are required to stock both right-hand and left-hand brake beam components for replacement and maintenance, contributing to greater input of material cost for keeping sufficient numbers of replacement supplies and greater storage and transportation needs. One solution to this problem has been to manually alter a brake beam by cutting a bolt connecting the strut to the compression and tension members, rotating the strut, and then re-securing the strut. This solution requires additional labor by the railway operator and may weaken the structural integrity of the brake beam assembly.